National award for Oconee’s broadband project

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors has designated Oconee’s Broadband FOCUS as one of its community projects of the year. In a statement, County Administrator Scott Moulder said, “We are honored to be recognized for our work in bringing high speed fiber technology to the County.” Oconee earned the award for its role to create a 245-mile fiber network to provide “reliable, high-capacity, redundant connections” both into and out of the county. Five years ago, Oconee was awarded an approximate $15 million federal grant for a fiber optic network. The network recently began serving the Oconee School District—upgrading Internet speeds at every school building served.